Adese Okojie FCIPD, founder and CEO BWHR created Black Woman in HR(BWHR) in June
2019 to address the challenges she faced as a Black woman navigating her career in the UK workforce.
Adese created BWHR community out of passion and its establishment is to address the critical issues of equality, diversity and inclusion in the workplace through the lens of HR. Due to her resilience and determination, BWHR’s social media presence has grown to over 20k followers and over 8k newsletter subscribers.
BWHR has thrived over the years because it focuses on equity, diversity and inclusion amongst stakeholders, clients and members to create an inclusive culture where diversity is valued by eliminating unlawful discrimination.
They also offer wide range of support through recruitment, retention, career progression initiatives, education and donations.
Adese, through her years of experience in the HR field, has used the BWHR platform in mentoring over 100 Black women in the HR field and has also empowered over 20,000 black professionals through various programs such as their monthly master classes and knowledge sharing at events through keynote speaking.
The organization also offers development opportunities to its members through coaching, webinars, and workshops. Additionally, BWHR partners with organizations on training, transformations and strategy. Adese has also spoken at the CIPD conferences, Retail week annual conference and delivered moderated workshops on many HR topics.
As one of the leaders in the HR space, It was disturbing that we could be carrying on business and pursuing goals to increase the profile of our companies and increase profit, but at the same time, be unnerved by cases of inequality and lack of diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Adese knew she had to step in to join in the campaign to right perceived wrongs.
In addition, Adese is a Senior HR leader, a Non Executive Board member and a strong advocate for equity, diversity and inclusion.
Recently, she was celebrated as one of the top 50 women around the world by Powerhouse global magazine.
Adese in her leisure time volunteers at her local church as a Sunday School Teacher, attends musical concerts, researches new trends and also travels the world to discover new cultures.
